Business recruitment expected to pick up in 2011 according to CBI and KPMG (From Watford Observer)

Business recruitment expected to pick up in 2011 according to CBI and KPMG

9:28am Monday 13th December 2010 in Business News

Recruitment freezes in London caused by the recession are expected to thaw over the coming six months, and firms are cautiously optimistic about prospects for the economy, according to the latest CBI / KPMG London Business Survey.

More London companies (45 per cent) are planning to hire as normal over the next six months, compared with 11 per cent a year ago.

Only 16 per cent of companies said that they would have a recruitment freeze during the next six months, compared with 26 per cent a year ago. The proportion of companies saying they would make redundancies over the next six months fell to 29 per cent from 53 per cent a year ago.

Recruitment freezes are expected to fall by more than a third to 16 per cent, from 26 per cent. At the same time, the proportion of companies making redundancies is predicted to fall from 53 per cent to 29 per cent.

The survey shows a continuing trend of cautious optimism: 54 per cent of firms are optimistic about their business prospects over the next six months, while 35 per cent are neutral, and 12 per cent feel pessimistic. The data show that 68 per cent plan to expand their businesses in the next 12 months compared with 58 per cent six months ago, with 47 per cent planning to expand within London.

But optimism is tempered by caution about the economy, leading to uncertainty. Businesses’ views of how the economy will perform over the next six months are mixed: 45 per cent are neutral about economic recovery, 34 per cent feel pessimistic, while only 17 per cent are optimistic.